From Zero to Hero: Forgotten OU Members Who Excel in CAP ASB

Introduction

So, here we are, back with yet another article that delves into the CAP Anime Style Battling world. After reading Deck Knight's reviews, you might be intrigued enough to drop the OU ladder for a moment and give CAP ASB a try. But what if your foray brings you into yet another metagame dominated by those staple Pokémon that you've faced repeatedly for the last months of laddering?

If such were your fears, you can take a breath of relief. If there's one trait that defines CAP ASB, it's the variety it offers. The mechanics are codified in a way that prevents the culling environment of OU. Your Lucario may still be able to beat my Raticate, but he will hardly come out of it unscathed. To add to this, the amount of challenges CAP ASB offers is equally impressive. Standard battles, Roleplay challenges, Gym matches... the list could go on.

Several former glories from OU found it difficult to adapt to the multiple facets of this brave new world, while unexpected dark horses rose from the depths of nothingness to shine like superstars. This article will guide you through some of the most famous among these revelations, giving you insight of CAP ASB's entertaining features in the process.

Aggron

Why he is bad in OU

It is odd to define an armored titan "frail", but this definition suits Aggron quite well. Despite his titanic Defense stat, a burned Lucario holding a Life Orb can still knock him out with a single Close Combat (assuming you haven't been foolhardy enough to choose Sturdy over Rock Head). Aggron's Head Smash is extremely powerful, but he's way too slow to hope for a sweep, especially in a tier infested with powerful Fighting-types.

Why he is good in CAP ASB

You might notice that I didn't even quote Metal Burst once in the paragraph above, and for good reason. However, in ASB it becomes one of the deadlier weapons in Aggron's arsenal, capable of cutting the foe's freedom of action severely with its threat of a brutal backlash. And, luckily for Aggron, he is not nearly as frail as he is in OU. Sure, he still suffers from Fighting- and Ground-type attacks, but he won't roll over and die to any special sweeper thanks to Sturdy weakening all incoming attacks, not just OHKO moves. The real icing on the cake, though, is that Aggron no longer has to worry about being revenge killed in a heartbeat, and thus can unleash his absurdly powerful Head Smash without any remorse.

Snorlax

Why he is bad in OU

There has been a time where Snorlax dominated OU, but that time is long gone. All that bulk is no longer enough in a metagame where Fighting-type attacks fly everywhere. The set that brought him to fame—the infamous Curselax—can now be cut through even by the special attackers he used to set up on. With Blissey and Chansey taking the spotlight of special tanking more than ever, and his 110 base Attack looking mediocre perhaps for the first time in history, it looks like Snorlax's fate is shamefully grim.

Why he is good in ASB

Moveslot syndrome, eat your heart out. In CAP ASB, Snorlax no longer has to worry about his moveset and can unleash the entire potential of a movepool that has little comparison among his rivals. Over a span of five generations, Snorlax collected over a hundred moves he can learn, giving him an astounding array of options—be they physical attacks, special, or something else. The ASB stat system is particularly kind to him as well, granting him a blend of bulk and power that echoes the glorious days of GSC. And if the opponent tries to pay back at Snorlax's terrific STAB moves and his endless coverage options, Bide and Counter can make them think twice. Snorlax's movepool is so great that even useful support options like Whirlwind, Snatch, or Block almost risk to go unnoticed.

Charizard

Why he is bad in OU

Don't let the cool kids fool you, Charizard has little room in OU. Stealth Rock kills him, Terrakion kills him, rain sweepers shred him to pieces. Sure, sometimes you may get lucky enough to fire off an uber-like Fire Blast that could make Reshiram proud. Unlike Reshiram, though, chances are you will wail in agony soon after. Charizard is a hemorrhaging one-trick pony that survives just enough to pull it off once before biting the dust.

Why he is good in ASB

Stealth Rock kills... what? Nah, forget it. Entry hazards are not nearly as prevalent in ASB as they are in OU. They may still Stone Edge you, but hey, that's why Counter is here. Also if I said rain you ought to forgive me, because by the time I finished this sentence Charizard will probably have already changed the weather back to sun and smitten the foe with a SolarBeam. You may be disappointed after seeing that Solar Power only gives a small boost to special attacks, but the recoil damaged is also cut to a point that, overall, you'll find Charizard even more effective than it used to be in OU. Look at it this way: what's better, KOing a foe and dying soon after or KOing a foe, setting up a Reflect, burning the new opponent, unleashing some Solar Power, Blaze-boosted Fire Blasts and then dying? The choice is yours.

Gallade

Why he is bad in OU

Fighting, Fighting, Fighting... I wonder why I didn't use c/p instead of writing the damn word everytime. Anyway, Fighting-types really are all the rage in this new generation. And for someone who hasn't changed a lot since DPP, it's hard to keep up. The superstars of past, like Infernape or Lucario, managed to make through it. But Gallade? He dived right from the edges of OU into the depths of RU. Perhaps it's because his 80 Speed stat wasn't enough for the job. Perhaps it's because burning your opponents isn't necessarily a good way to distinguish yourself when your Fighting-type siblings OHKO things left and right. Perhaps we'll never know for sure.

Why he is good in ASB

Well, ok, burning your foe isn't necessarily impressive. Paralyzing him? Even less so. Poisoning or putting him to sleep? Forgettable. So, what about mixing them all? And perhaps adding a STAB Close Combat in the process, while you hide safely behind your Reflect/Light Screen/Safeguard? In ASB, Gallade combines all the little bits that set him apart from the other Fighting-types and blends them into a killer movepool that has a trick (or should I say Trick) for every foe. His lower stats like HP, Defense, and Sp. Attack are just above the Rank 3 threshold, providing him the same defensive layout of a Dragonite. And when his foes will be poisoned, burned, paralyzed, asleep, weakened while you're still healthy and up to business, no one will laugh at that 80 Speed anymore.

Beedrill

Why he is bad in OU

I'm sure the most brave of you readers may have actually found themselves considering any of the above Pokémon for an OU team... until now. This is Beedrill, ladies and gentlemen, the Pokémon whose offensive stats make Skarmory look like a physical sweeper. Unless the latter is busy doing his job as a physical wall and stopping Beedrill's sweep cold, naturally. The poor bug's best hope is to lay down Toxic Spikes before something ridiculous like Braviary's Peck OHKOes him.

Why he is good in ASB

After looking at his stats in CAP ASB, you may think I tricked you. Hey, it's still Beedrill, what stats did you expect him to have? But even if his Attack stat is comparable to Jolteon's, Beedrill still has a trick up his sleeve: combinations. Naturally, every Pokémon is capable of taking two attacks and mixing them together. However, one thing is to combine two Poison Jabs to get a stronger one. Another one is to combine Poison Jab with Fury Attack to destroy the foe's Substitute, disrupt his Focus Punch and leaving him poisoned. Or alternatively, you can use Poison Sting plus Pin Missile and get a similar effect. Or you can combine Cut with X-Scissor and laugh at your burn or the foe's Reflect after you hit him with a critical hit, which will further benefit from Sniper. Naturally, you could always resort to Focus Energy and grant yourself a couple rounds of rampage where all your attacks will always critically hit. All these options provide Beedrill the means to thrive in a metagame that he may still fail to dominate, yet a metagame that will surely fear his sting.

Conclusion

"Strong Pokémon. Weak Pokémon. That is only the selfish perception of people", used to say the wise Elite Four Karen. False, Childish? Perhaps... but this is ASB. Here, even the most ferocious Mewtwo can be eventually overcome in a Singles match by a team of Rattata, Patrat, and Sentret. This is the game where there are strong Pokémon and weak Pokémon, but all of them stand a chance, and all of them can find a challenge that gets them to truly shine. This is CAP ASB, and your favorite Pokémon may be the next superstar.